Tag: nc mountians

A couple of weeks ago my friend Stephen and I decided to not only go camping in the mountains but to hike one of the toughest sections on the Appalachian Trail.

I have never camped before and I am not one to rough it but Stephen is military so I figured if I had any questions or feared being trampled by a deer then this guys would help me through it.

We drove Friday night up to a hostile in Tennessee after work. We got there very late and found a camping spot by the river to set up our tent. We built a fire to keep warm and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning we walked up to the owners house where we were feed a great breakfast that included homemade from scratch blueberry pancakes, hash brown casserole, egg soufflé, and sausage and gravy biscuits. I of course had to have my coffee. Breakfast was well greeted by great conversation with the locals.

After packing out backpacks with much needed items and a couple of beers we got in the shuttle and headed up to the mountain to begin our climb to Carver’s Gap.

The moment we begun hiking on the trail we were in awe of the great views.

We met some people on the trail and had some great conversations and people gave us advice on how to proceed and where we needed to get the freshest water. We then made the plan to camp on Big Hump Mountain that night and then head back down the mountain in the morning.

We finally made our journey up Big Hump Mountain which was a hard climb. I had to stop a couple of times to rest but the views at the top made it worth it.

Once we made it to the top we got out of sleeping bags, changed into some dry less sweaty clothes and took a rest. The sunset was amazing. It was so quite and peaceful that nigh. The stars were so bright and close it felt like you could reach up and pull them out of the sky. The hours I did sleep I was awaken by the sound of deer walking by and then running off quickly when they realized I was watching them.

The next morning we awoke to an amazing sunrise before packing our stuff and heading back down the mountain. The views coming down the mountain were awesome.

After walking about 6 miles we finally got back to highway and to our car.

My first camping trip was awesome and I can’t wait to plan the next one at another location.

Last week I blogged about how my wife has caught the fitness bug and has been watching what she eats and working out every day. It has been nice to spend time with her and that we have something we can do together and be there for one another. It has brought out marriage to another level.

This past weekend my wife decided she wanted to go to the mountains and hike up Chimney Rock, which is near Lake Lure. It is about 2 hours from us. So we packed a cooler and a backpack and loaded the kids up and headed that way early on Saturday morning.

We got there before lunch and just before the crowds came in. We strapped Everly to my back and started to make our way to the top.

My wife did great. She and my oldest stopped a few times to catch their breath. They were a ton of stars. I think I heard someone say about 27 flights and 515 stairs total.

When we finally made it to the top I was very happy for my wife. It was a huge accomplishment for her. She is just starting her journey and I am looking forward to seeing where it takes her. She said she wanted to come back next year and do it again for some before and after photos.

Also the view is stunning…

After we hiked the rock we got some lunch at Medina’s and then played in the river before heading home. It was an awesome day and we will be back I hope really soon.